The Fortune Hunter

A Novel

"Empress Elizabeth of Austria, known as "Sisi," is the Princess Diana of nineteenth-century Europe. Famously beautiful, as captured in a portrait with diamond stars in her hair, she is unfulfilled in her marriage to the older Emperor Franz Joseph. Sisi has spent years evading the stifling formality of royal life on her private train or yacht or, whenever she can, on the back of a horse. Captain Bay Middleton is dashing, young, and the finest horseman in England. He is also impoverished, with no hope of buying the horse needed to win the Grand National--until he meets Charlotte Baird. A clever, plainspoken heiress whose money gives her a choice among suitors, Charlotte falls in love with Bay, the first man to really notice her, for his vulnerability as well as his glamour. When Sisi joins the legendary hunt organized by Earl Spencer in England, Bay is asked to guide her on the treacherous course. Their shared passion for riding leads to an infatuation that threatens the growing bond between Bay and Charlotte, and all of their futures. This brilliant new novel by Daisy Goodwin is a lush, irresistible story of the public lives and private longings of grand historical figures"--

Comment

This was such an enjoyable read, I would read anything Daisy Goodwin writes. She makes history so interesting and transports you so a different time and place so seamlessly it just stays in your mind. After I read for a couple of hours, I look up and wonder where the horses and carriages are but so glad that I don't have to wear a corset.
I highly recommend this book.

I enjoy Goodwin's writing style and ability to shift to different characters' perspectives. The way she plays with narrative and timeline hint at something sinister that might be lying beneath the perfectly polished exterior. As with her other book, The American Heiress, I was sure there was going to be a sad ending, but while there is melancholy in this story, it ends rather tidily. I love the historical details and the bringing to life of historical characters including Sisi and Queen Victoria.

After enjoying the author's first novel, I turned to this one. A completely different story line. I began to feel disgusted at the "love triangle" aspect (and the barbaric fox hunting) and put it down for a while. But it was worth coming back to, and I enjoyed how some of the characters grew and started to make better decisions. Believability was a bit stretched with the prowess of horse-racing despite injury or side-saddles. Some of the writing was luscious: "The brush stopped, arrested by a knot." I especially enjoyed the author's note about the historical characters and what was true. A true adventure.

.What an absolutely delicious treat, from start to finish! As a historical romance, this isn't a demanding read - but this doesn't mean Daisy Goodwin hasn't brought her game face to the text : the writing is evocative,clear and lovely. The main characters - Austrian Empress "Sisi", dashing officer Captain Bay Middleton, and heiress Charlotte Baird -- were all actual people, borrowed from history. The novel artfully weaves the true circumstances with a binding, magical, fictional thread. A perfect January read.

I’m not a big romance fan, but this story set in Victorian England was enjoyable. A strong, independent female protagonist, a handsome male and the love of horses combine to show that women did have a part in Victorian society. I particularly enjoyed the scenes involving Queen Victoria. She must have been quite a woman.

This is a fun read based veeeerrrry loosely on real historical events and follows a wealthy heiress, a famous horseman, and an empress legendary for her beauty. There's plenty of romance to be found in these pages, but the writing is good enough and the historical research thorough enough to appeal to readers for other reasons, too. Goodwin does a good job of portraying complicated characters with complicated relationships, and I really enjoyed reading about them.

lscianna
Sep 12, 2014

I was very disappointed in this book. I thought it would be an historical fiction. I read about the first hundred pages and found no history, merely a predicable love story. Couldn't bring myself to finish it.

Brighter than the world-famous Lennox diamonds that are her birthright, heiress Charlotte Baird is more interested in the new medium of photography than the time-honored tradition of marriage - until she meets the dashing Captain Bay Middleton. The finest equestrian in 1875 England, Middleton lacks the pedigree to wed an heiress as well as the funds to fulfill his lifelong dream of winning the Grand National. Although instantly drawn to each other, Charlotte and Bay's budding courtship is threatened by the arrival of the Empress Elizabeth of Austria, an accomplished horsewoman who capture's Bay's attention. As in Daisy Goodwin's previous novel, My Last Duchess, the Gilded Age provides the stage for a dramatic love triangle set against the backdrop of high society. Historical Fiction newsletter August 2014.